Tuesday, 26 July 2011

A while ago Luisa Plaja (fab author) suggested I enter the Young Writers competition but I guess I procrastinated and forgot about it. Then a couple of months ago my English teacher said I should enter and he gave me the forms etc. But instead of a Young Writers Story Competition it was a Young Writers Poem Competition where a few people in every school in the country enter their own poem into the competition. If their poem is good enough to be selected, it gets published in a regional book. Anyway, the theme was 'Things That Matter To You' so I entered my poem 'How I See The World' into the Young Writers: Southern Counties competition.

Yesterday I received a letter from the company saying that my poem had made it through the selection process! This means my poem will be in Young Writers: The Southern Counties which will be published on October 31st 2011. I received a certificate for Talented Writing and a limited edition bookmark. I can't wait to see the book! When the series of regional books are published they will be available in most libraries in the UK and also a copy will be kept in the British Library, which is an archive of books published going back hundreds of years. This means the book with my poem inside will be kept there long after I'm dead! :)

18 year old book blogger who aspires to work in journalism and/or publishing, and dreams of one day seeing her own work on bookshelves around the world. Amber has been running The Mile Long Bookshelf single-handedly since 2009.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling

LIBRARY

Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery

I didn't get any signed book-ish stuff (except Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery which was kindly signed by Keren :)), but I did get this from my favourite girl-band Parade which is awesome...

If you can't read it, the autographs from left to right say Sian, Bianca, Lauren, Emily and Jessica and then it says To Amber, love from Parade x. They also sent me two 'Parade' badges. :)

Oh and if you're wondering why I haven't reviewed much recently, it's because for some reason I have suddenly got a bit obsessed with the Harry Potter books (a bit late but still!). I didn't think they were my kind of book, but then my Grandad bought me the first book the other day and I was hooked! So those books are taking up most of my time at the moment. ;)

18 year old book blogger who aspires to work in journalism and/or publishing, and dreams of one day seeing her own work on bookshelves around the world. Amber has been running The Mile Long Bookshelf single-handedly since 2009.

When Robert arrives in town with his dark good looks and mysterious background, Emily has a huge crush! It’s almost enough to take her mind off this year’s school play . . . miserable, wailing Wuthering Heights.
But Robert is no prince, with his black moods and fierce temper. The beautiful untamed moors would be the perfect backdrop to their fiery romance, if only Emily could work it out.

On stage or off stage, will Emily ever be the Cathy to his Heathcliff?

This story is beautiful in every way...the cover, the setting, the characters etc. This is a great take on the classic novel by Emily Bronte! The emotions in this book, especially Emily and Robert's, were spectacular, they just flowed off the page. When Emily was sad, I felt sad - when she was happy, so was I!

Wuthering Hearts is dramatic, romantic and everything I love. I think I read it in about one sitting because it kept me wanting to know what happened next. I desperately didn't want this book to end, it was fantastic and really funny! Plus, this book is great if you don't like the actual classics themselves.

I recommend this to everyone with a passion for love, drama and lots and lots of humour! The official age-recommendation for Wuthering Hearts is 12+ but I think it could be a 10+, as I know quite a few 10 year olds would love this too. :o)
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GUEST POST: WHERE I GET MY INSPIRATION FROM:

Where do I get my inspiration from?

I wish I could just get it from Marks and Spencer. I can just imagine it..."I'll have a BLT, a bottle of cloudy lemonade and a jar of inspiration, please." Wow. That would be GREAT.

Unfortunately, it's trickier to work out where I find my ideas. I can tell you when I get them though.

There's the shower. I don't know if it's the drumming of the water on my head or the fact I'm so short-sighted I can't actually see anything in there, so there's nothing to do but think, but it seems to be a good place for ideas.

It's the same with the tree outside - a massive Eucalyptus that goes bonkers when it's windy. Just staring at that seems to flip a switch in my brain.

When I've finished reading in bed at night, and turn off the light, that's when I get ideas too. And then I have to turn the light back on again, and go and write them down, because no matter how convinced I am that the ideas will still be there in the morning, they never are. I know.

My husband is good at storylines. He came up with a cool plot about fairies, on the A303 once.

Panic. That's a brilliant one. There's something about the fact that it's 5.15 and I have to come up with an idea by 5.30 or my editor will be very cross indeed that makes ideas appear. Thank goodness.

And finally, there's me. I copy myself mercilessly. I like to give my characters big noses, like me. Often, they're messy, like me. In my new book Wuthering Hearts, the main character is a girl called Emily who wants to play the lead in the school play, like I did. I longed to be Cinderella - but ended up being an ugly sister instead. And Emily longs to be Catherine Earnshaw in the school play of Wuthering Heights and, well...no spoilers. Because sometimes, my characters do stuff that I've done. Sometimes, they don't.

And when I'm staring at the tree or in the shower or on the M25, anything can pop into my head.
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Thanks Kay! The next blog on the tour is HERE. :)

18 year old book blogger who aspires to work in journalism and/or publishing, and dreams of one day seeing her own work on bookshelves around the world. Amber has been running The Mile Long Bookshelf single-handedly since 2009.

UKYA Champion Teen Blogger 2015

Future8 Blogger Award 2014

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